Kaslo council will raise municipal taxes by nine per cent.
Council decided on the number at a committee of the whole meeting on April 15. Staff had recommended at least a seven per cent increase for 2025.
Council has also settled on two other increases that will affect ratepayers this year: a five per cent rise in water and wastewater user fees, and a 20 per cent increase in water and wastewater parcel taxes.
The Village’s 2025 budget totals $9,632,407. Chief administrative officer Robert Brown and financial consultant Linda Tynan prepared the presented documents based on a seven per cent tax increase, so this number will change once staff adjusts to nine per cent.
For each one per cent increase in municipal taxes, the Village brings in an additional $7,800. That may not seem like much, but Tynan noted that compounded over time, it can make a big difference.
Some expenditure increases affecting the budget include a 5.65 per cent FortisBC utility rate increase, which applies to every Village-owned building; a 10 per cent rise in RDCK tipping fees; a three per cent increase for all contracted services, supplies, and materials due to inflation; a three per cent increase for employee wages and salaries; and 2.4 per cent for council remuneration.
The Village will fund almost all projects this year with reserves and grants. It will draw $2,231,969 from the opening reserve balance of $4,089,760. Some reserves are set to be mostly depleted by the end of year: the Community Works Fund reserve began at $334,313 and will finish at $6,048; and the Transportation reserve started at $172,248 and will close out with $4,788.
The final budget will be adopted before the province’s submission deadline of May 15.
